A couple of years ago our company lost one of our larger customers and it meant a 5% loss of budget for the year, same as the GSMNP. Being a private company we couldn't afford to tell our customers we were cutting services to them since we had lost 5% of our budget. Instead we had to cut internally and what they did was basically trim out overhead costs and eliminate 401k matching, etc. till we managed to close the gap. Most private companies can't just reduce services to customers like that unless you are some kind of a monopoly.

The NPS is getting hit harder by the sequester than any other organization in the Department of Interior, wonder why? This is just the latest "campaign instead of running the government" publicity stunt since closing the White House tours and telling ICE to let detainees free.

The park is in a tough position because of how Washington has handled things over the last few years. Here is a good article explaining the position the park is in, why more parks are having to put in fees and such, and it talks a lot about the GSMNP in here:

Like the US Post Office. They make "cuts" by eliminating hours?? Seriously?? The USPS doesn't make money unless they're conducting business! Why not cut out some of the multitude of HOLIDAYS!! The govt does anything but make meaningful, wise cuts.

It's like the lesson I learned in business class. If the govt needs to choose between cutting (a) Funding for hungry kids (b) funding for Benedict Arnold statues, which do they cut? Simple, they choose (a) because the public will demand reinstatement. If they choose (b), the public will see the waste and will not fight to get it back!

The park is in a tough position because of how Washington has handled things over the last few years. Here is a good article explaining the position the park is in, why more parks are having to put in fees and such, and it talks a lot about the GSMNP in here:

The NPS is getting hit harder by the sequester than any other organization in the Department of Interior, wonder why? This is just the latest "campaign instead of running the government" publicity stunt since closing the White House tours and telling ICE to let detainees free.

The pettiness comes from the top, down. The administration in the WH put out the edict to all agencies involved in the "sequestering" to, "make it hurt"! Then they will simply blame somebody else for it and garner more sympathy for their "cause". What a crock! This country is bankrupt, economically and morally.